Power unit F1 2026 to the tough challenge of Spa
The Spa-Francorchamps track, where the Belgian GP takes place next weekend, is considered by many to be one of the most challenging circuits for the 2026 power units. Particularly thirsty for electric energy even after the (certainly improved) modifications made since Miami, the new engines must indeed face one of the fastest and most technical circuits in the world, where drivers – even more than at Silverstone – spend several seconds at full throttle. Not surprisingly, for the second time this year, there will be as many as five zones where the front and rear movable wings can be opened.
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Belgian GP, 5 “straight zones” like in Melbourne
It is not a complete novelty, because already in Melbourne Formula 1 – at the time making its absolute debut in a GP and even hungrier for electrons – allowed as many as five zones for the “straight mode.” And many still remember, months later, the strange feeling of watching a sometimes depressing qualifying and an exciting race in the first laps, but perhaps a bit artificial in the modes, so much so that for weeks people talked about the “yo-yo effect” and Mario Kart Formula. Meanwhile, regulatory corrections have arrived and it is not certain that the number of zones for the so-called Straightline Mode automatically corresponds to a problematic race in terms of battery management. But it is true that for some time it was precisely the GPs of Silverstone and Spa, and to a lesser extent Monza (where there are more heavy braking zones to recharge), that raised concerns.
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Looking at the official map of the Belgian GP circuit, the zones where drivers will be able to open the movable wings will be: the start/finish straight leading to the tight hairpin La Source; the downhill straight after turn 1 leading cars towards the compression of Eau Rouge and Raidillon; the very long straight of Kemmel between Raidillon and the chicane of Les Combes; the straights of the third sector, after Stavelot and from the very fast bend of Blanchimont to the heavy braking of the Bus Stop. Basically, as can be clearly seen from the image below, from turn 18 to the following turn 5 there are practically five straights in succession separated by only two braking zones (Bus Stop and La Source) and two zones to be driven at full or almost full throttle (Blanchimont and Eau Rouge-Raidillon).
A test for the Macarena wings
It will also be a further test for the so-called Macarena wings, which the FIA has decided to scrutinize after the two incidents involving Max Verstappen, in qualifying for the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring and in the final laps of the British GP at Silverstone: the system should indeed provide some performance advantage both to Red Bull and to Ferrari (which so far has had no malfunctions) but it is clear that especially for the Milton Keynes team there is a question mark after the failures that sidelined the four-time F1 world champion. Also in this, the Belgian GP could prove decisive…
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